I've had chrome and ORB and all show spotting with our hard water/water softener. ORB, being dark, showed every spot, the chrome was better, but not great either, the minerals in the water, or maybe it was the salt from the softener built up and became difficult to remove over time. Although I would wipe it down whenever water got on it, others in my family were not so diligent and over time it required a lot more rubbing to clean. I switched to all brushed nickel, couldn't be happier. Yes, there is some spotting, there will be with any type, but by far, the brushed nickel shows it the least and is easy to clean. These days, the ease of cleaning always factors in to my choices.

I think you're absolutely right, monicakm, it must depend on the manufacturer because, as I said before, there is no consensus. So, the faucet I am thinking about is a Toto (also getting a Toto pedestal sink and toilet). Anyone have Toto faucets in polished chrome or brushed nickel who wants to chime in? Thanks! Here is a link that might be useful: Toto faucet

I used lavender essential for a few reasons, buehl, though none mean it is the only one to be used. A big reason for me; I like the smell of lavender. I, too, am sensitive to and particular about scents (I use unscented or fragrance-free versions of certain personal and household products when they are available, and am fussy about the ones that only come in scented versions--like hair products). Also, when I was researching stone-safe, yet disinfecting cleaning products for our new bathrooms, I came across a bunch of sites/recipes for homemade cleaners. Many of the recipes included lavender or other essential oils, not only for their scent, but also for their antimicrobial/anti-bacterial properties. Tea Tree oil was another essential oil that came up a lot (but I had read that it can be toxic to cats, and I much prefer the smell of lavender to tea tree oil). You can probably do a search of essential oils and anti-bacterial property and see which others come up (and which would appeal to you scent-wise). Lavender happens to be an effective anti-bacterial (according to an EPA dr I'd spoken with,who also happened to love the smell of lavender!), but it is by no means the only one, so feel free to come up with your own "personalized" cleaner. :-) FYI, I use enough lavender oil (and alcohol to water ratio) for it to smell "right" to me.

Your ideas are possibilities, Funkycamper. We talked about doing glass over the beadboard, too, but I do wonder if it would look funny.(?) I also wonder how successfully we could blend "real" beadboard with ceramic beadboard. That's part of why I was considering transitioning to a totally different medium behind the range, so that it wouldn't be real and fake right next to each other. Thanks for your vote of confidence! I revel in all of the possibilities, LOL, it's making a "final" decision that's tough! Thanks for sharing the tile you got, iroll. Since you did the beadboard only behind the range, I'm curious what you did elsewhere. I don't think crackle snaps or pops for DH, unfortunately. I found some gorgeous (or so *I* thought) crackle tile by Enser. DH response was "Oh, yuck! What's wrong with that tile?" So much for that, LOL. Your question of how much the eye "needs" is a good one, Rococogurl. I don't know. I love color, and I like neutrals, too. I'm not sure how much my eye, or the eyes of my family can handle. I also know that I love to change things around, so committing to a color feels a bit constrictive. I get you on the difficult appliance choice. So glad to hear that your final decision is made! You must be relieved. I was talking to a friend whose son works in China. He said, "Mom, life is so much simpler over here!" She visited him and saw that they don't have much kitchen to speak of, they wash their dishes in the bathroom. She questioned his idea of "simplicity", but he then explained how if they need a fridge there are only 2 choices at the store. A big fridge or a little fridge. That's it. There is no agonizing over which thing to choose. I don't care for the medallion/mural in the picture I shared, either. I didn't associate it with a certain era, necessarily (says the girl who just put her 1997 Chevy van to its final rest...) but I think I'd tire of the same picture back there, day in and day out. My daughter and I were talking about how we can't wait to turn the calender to see the new picture each month because we're tired of the old one. So, no stone murals for this household! : ) I don't mean to be a tease! ; ) Let's put it this way, right now I feel like I'll be as surprised how this kitchen looks as you will be, if that's any consolation. I plan to post pictures, no worries! Thanks for sharing the picture of your beadboard tile combo, diymom79. Both my mom and my MIL have the vinyl beadboard in their bathrooms and love it, too. MIL has hers with the wide plank look. It's very pretty. I feel like I'm at a beautiful beach cottage when I'm in there. : ) I picked up some fabric samples today from a local store. They are quilt fabrics, so I don't know if they'd be a good choice for curtains, but they do give me an idea of how the colors work with the cupboards. Fun! I like them both--Oops. One is light colored background with blue flowers, and the other one is a black background with pink and cream flowers with green leaves. Maybe I could make both summer and winter curtains?? I need to go to the city to find decorator fabric, but the weather isn't being very cooperative for that endeavor. So, if I must, I'll stare at the cotton samples for a few days. Here's a picture, so that I'm not teasing, LOL. This post was edited by laughable on Fri, Jan 30, 15 at 23:10